ATTORNEY-GENERAL

BAE Systems

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  what proportion of documents related to the Serious Fraud Office's investigation into BAE sent in error to a warehouse in London's Docklands district (a) have now been recovered and (b) are likely to be recovered;
	(2)  to which locations the Serious Fraud Office has erroneously sent evidence related to its investigation into BAE;
	(3)  what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) documents and (b) audio tapes and electronic media related to the Serious Fraud Office's investigation into BAE that have been sent to the wrong destination.

Oliver Heald: The SFO has recovered 98% of the data—this includes all audio tapes and electronic media. The SFO continues to pursue the recovery of outstanding material, The material was sent to a single location at the request of the recipient. It is not appropriate to provide further information.
	The volume of data incorrectly sent to the third party was calculated to be 32,000 pages of documents; 81 audio tapes and electronic media. This remains unchanged and represents 3% of data obtained during the investigation.

Domestic Violence: Convictions

Helen Jones: To ask the Attorney-General how many people convicted of offences involving domestic violence had been previously convicted of (a) a domestic violence offence, (b) other offences involving assault or violence or (c) other offences in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of convictions for offences involving domestic violence where defendants have previously been convicted of any other offence(s). Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by a manual exercise at disproportionate cost.

Rape: Convictions

Helen Jones: To ask the Attorney-General how many people convicted of rape had previously (a) been arrested following domestic violence, (b) been convicted of a domestic violence offence, (c) been arrested for an offence involving stalking or harassment or (d) been convicted of a stalking or harassment offence in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of convictions for offences of rape where defendants have previously been convicted of any other offence(s). Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by a manual exercise at disproportionate cost.
	The CPS does not hold a record of the number of people arrested for offences involving domestic violence, stalking or harassment. The official statistics on crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Copyright: Arts

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that copyright protection for artistic designs made before 1 June 1957 is provided under British law.

David Willetts: The Government do not intend to create new copyright in works created before 1 June 1957.
	Artistic designs created before 1 June 1957 may attract copyright protection by virtue of the Term Directive (2006/116/EC) if they were protected by copyright in any EU member state on 1 July 1995.

Copyright: Arts

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the transition period for the implementation of section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

David Willetts: The Call for Evidence on the timing of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act closed on 27 November 2013. The Government intends to consult further on proposals for transitional provisions and implementation of section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 in due course.

Copyright: Arts

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's planned timeline is for the implementation of section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Government has not yet decided on the timing of implementation of section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.
	The Call for Evidence on the timing of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which would be implemented by virtue of section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, closed on 27 November 2013. The information submitted is intended to shape the consultation, which will be launched in due course, on the date of the repeal and any necessary transitional provisions.

Private Sector

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the proportion of the population of each English region who (a) run their own business and (b) work for private sector small and medium-sized enterprises.

Matthew Hancock: The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) provides a measure of the percentage of the working age population starting or running a business. The following table provides estimates of activity within the English regions in 2009. Later editions of the GEM survey only provide estimates for countries within the UK, because of a reduction in the size of the sample after 2009.
	
		
			 Percentage of the working age population involved in starting or running a business in the English regions in 2009 
			 English region Percentage of the working age population involved in either starting or running a business 
			 North East 9.6 
			 North West 10.7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 12.8 
			 East Midlands 10.1 
			 West Midlands 10.3 
			 East of England 12.4 
			 London 12.9 
			 South East 12.6 
			 South West 13.8 
			 Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)—UK report 2009 
		
	
	There are no data available to estimate the proportion of the resident population working in small and medium enterprises by region.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

First Time Buyers

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to help first-time buyers get onto the housing ladder.

Kris Hopkins: This Government is committed to supporting people's aspirations to own their own home.
	By tackling the budget deficit left by the last Administration, we are keeping long-term interest rates down. Just a one per cent rise in market interest rates would mean the average family with a mortgage would have to pay £1,000 a year more. This Government's steps to ensure financial stability and support the housing market have had a positive effect on mortgage markets-the Council of Mortgage Lenders confirmed recently that the number of new mortgages is now at the highest level since before the last Administration's housing crash in 2008. The number of first-time buyers is at its highest level since 2007 according to estimates by Halifax.
	We have also introduced a number of targeted schemes. Since 2010, the Government has been helping over 90,000 hardworking people onto the housing ladder: over 36,000 through innovative Help to Buy and earlier schemes; 20,800 social tenants through the Right to Buy (which has been reinvigorated); and over 37,000 affordable home ownership homes as part of our Affordable Housing Programme.

Housing: Worcestershire

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new house builds in Worcestershire there have been in each of the last three years.

Kris Hopkins: Statistics on house building completions in each local authority district, Worcestershire and England are published in the Department's live tables 253 (annual) and 253a (quarterly), which are available at the following link:
	http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building

Local Government Finance

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce the provisional local government finance settlement.

Brandon Lewis: As in previous years, the provisional Local Government Finance settlement for 2014-15 will be announced as soon as practicable after the autumn statement.

Local Government Finance

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he will respond to the Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Financial sustainability of local authorities, published 7 June 2013, HC 134.

Brandon Lewis: We have already have. Our responses to the Public Accounts Committee's recommendations were published in the Treasury minutes on the 12 September.

Local Government: North East

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether alternative administrative structures for delivering economic development, transport and vocational skills training at a local level in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham are being considered by his Department;
	(2)  what the timetable is for creation of a combined authority for Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham; and what functions he intends to devolve to this body;
	(3)  what the economic development functions are of (a) the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and (b) the proposed North East Combined Authority covering Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the right hon. Member to the consultation paper published by my Department on 7 November, which is available online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposal-to-establish-a-combined-authority-for-durham-northumberland-and-tyne-and-wear

Private Rented Housing: Students

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Government has given consideration to changing the status for the purpose of council tax of landlords renting properties to university students to classify them as (a) a business and (b) any other classification.

Brandon Lewis: As I said to the hon. Member in my answer to him of 13 November 2012, Official Report, column 112W, the Government has no plans to change the rules governing the long-standing council tax exemption for full-time students; nor do we have plans to charge business rates on the residential dwellings that landlords rent out.
	In the last Session, my Department duly noted the amendments to the Local Government Finance Bill tabled by Labour hon. Members to (a) make students liable for council tax and (b) levy business rates on student landlords (‘Notice of Amendments given on 26 January 2012, New Clauses 17 and 18’). The Government opposed these Labour proposals for new taxes on students and student housing and the amendments were not approved by the House.
	In 2011, the Secretary of State was lobbied by a Liberal Democrat councillor on the Local Government Association to allow councils to increase council tax on students. Details are laid out in my Department's Freedom of Information disclosure log:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/meeting-with-local-government-association
	This is not a policy proposal that we supported.
	The reason why properties occupied entirely by students are exempt is because students, unlike other groups of people on low incomes, are not normally entitled to income-related benefits, such as housing and council tax benefit/local council tax support. If a government were to make landlords of such properties liable for council tax or business rates, landlords would simply pass the costs on to the students through raising rents.
	The Government do recognise the need to compensate local authorities for the notional loss of council tax income from student accommodation, which would otherwise have to be borne by other local residents, and this is done through the local government funding system. Councils are also rewarded for new student accommodation through the New Homes Bonus.
	In addition, in July, I took steps to stop the inappropriate practice of local authorities trying to impose backdoor bin taxes on student accommodation. More information can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-bin-charging-on-student-accommodation

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many local radio stations in Lancashire broadcast on DAB.

Edward Vaizey: In the administrative county of Lancashire, there are two local analogue stations which are simulcast on DAB—Rock FM and Magic 999.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the coverage of the trunk and A road network in Cumbria by DAB radio; and when she expects these areas to be fully covered.

Edward Vaizey: Under the Communications Act 2003 (as amended), Ofcom is required to submit a report to the Secretary of State every three years, describing the state of the electronic communications networks and services in the UK.
	
		
			 Cumbria County Roads (percentage) 
			 BBC 68 
			 Commercial 44 
			 Source: Ofcom Infrastructure Report 2013 
		
	
	On 14 October, the BBC has announced improvements to its DAB coverage to reach 97.3% of households by 2015. This will include improvements to the network in Cumbria. We will provide an update on progress on digital radio at the end of the year.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the (a) UK, (b) north west England and (c) Cumbria is covered by DAB radio reception of comparable quality and range to FM coverage.

Edward Vaizey: The figures are in the following table.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Indoor coverage Outdoor coverage 
			 DAB Coverage of National Commercial Services   
			 UK 87 73 
			 North West 95 84 
			 Cumbria County 65 44 
			    
			 DAB Coverage of BBC Services   
			 UK 94 83 
			 North West 97 89 
			 Cumbria County 86 68 
			 Source: Ofcom Infrastructure Report 2013

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of radio audience represented by digital devices.

Edward Vaizey: This type of data are collected and published quarterly by RAJAR Ltd (Radio Joint Audience Research). In Q3 2013, 45.2% of the adult population has a DAB radio set at home (or 24 million adults), up 10% year on year and the share of all listening to digital is 35.6%, up 14% year on year.

Telecommunications

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  whether her Department holds data on the number of instances of telecommunications companies switching a consumer from one company to another without their knowledge or consent;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect of unintentional phone slamming on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not hold data on incidences of telecommunications companies switching a consumer from one company to another without their knowledge or consent. However, Ofcom does record the number of complaints it receives about fixed-line mis-selling and slamming (including erroneous transfers).
	There has been a significant reduction in complaints about slamming since the introduction of General Condition 24 in 2010—the rule which governs sales and marketing of landline telecoms services and provides greater protection for consumers by enabling Ofcom to take swift and effective action against offending companies. Since 2010, complaints about slamming have fallen from an average of 647 complaints a month to an average of 184 complaints a month in 2013.
	Around 46% of incidents where consumers complain they have been switched with no knowledge or consent are a result of erroneous transfers. 2.8 million switches take place each year over BT's copper network. Ofcom estimates that approximately 4.2% of these homes were affected by the wrong line being switch in 2012-13.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not made any assessment of the effect of unintentional phone slamming on small and medium-sized enterprises, although in both representations to the Department and in complaints to Ofcom there is anecdotal evidence of the harm that small and medium-sized enterprises can be caused when slamming occurs. That is why the system of safeguards exist to recover the situation as soon as possible when an incidence of unintentional slamming occurs, why, (for example) agreed industry practice is that a previously allocated business number that becomes free when switching or slamming takes place should not be reallocated for a period of 14 months and why the prohibition and deterrent fines are in place where slamming is other than unintentional or erroneous.

DEFENCE

Flexible Working

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a number of flexible working arrangements, such as term time working, irregular hours, home working and compressed hours. MOD defines compressed hours as meaning that an individual works a shorter working week but meets their conditioned hours, in one of the following ways: a nine day fortnight, a four day working week, or a four and a half day working week (because of an individual arrangement not a site closure).
	Flexible working arrangements are agreed between staff and their line managers at local level. Although some data are held centrally, not all such arrangements are notified therefore the following table is accordingly likely to be an underestimate of the total number of civilian staff on compressed hours.
	
		
			 Working pattern Number of staff below senior civil service recorded as working compressed hours (rounded) Senior civil service recorded as working compressed hours 
			 Compressed hours 360 Fewer than 5 
		
	
	Data relating to the senior civil service cannot be readily split between those at or below director level.

France

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made on the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force with France; what plans that body has made for its future; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: We continue to make good progress towards our objective of creating a capability able to undertake co-ordinated and coherent expeditionary operations with France through a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF) consisting of national force elements operating side by side with the ability to respond to a wide range of scenarios.
	This progress is being achieved through the conduct of joint exercises and other training activities, joint work on military concepts and doctrine, the exchange of personnel between national armed forces, the exchange of information and the alignment of capability lines of development.
	We remain on track to achieve full verification of concept for the CJEF by the target date of 2016.

Watts Andrews Report

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1287W, on Watts Andrews Report, when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Bridgend; when he plans to place a copy of the Watts Andrews Report in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: I have written to the hon. Member today and have placed a copy of the report in the Library of the House.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Constituencies

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 1015W, on constituencies, whether any additional cost to the public purse will arise from the decision to move the review of equalisation of constituency boundaries from 2013 to 2018.

Nicholas Clegg: The relevant legislation provides for boundary reviews to take place every five years. The 2013 review was not completed, but a boundary review was due to be held in the next Parliament in any event, meaning no additional cost to the Boundary Commissions is anticipated.

EDUCATION

Children: Autism

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people with autism are (a) in education and (b) formally or informally excluded from education.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education's School Census collects information on the number of pupils whose primary type of special educational need is autistic spectrum disorder.
	In January 2013 there were 70,780(1) pupils with autistic spectrum disorder in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools.
	In 2011-012, the latest year for which we have data, there were 2,750(2) pupils in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools with autistic spectrum disorder who received at least one fixed period exclusion and 70(2) pupils who received a permanent exclusion.
	The Department does not collect data on the use of informal exclusions. All exclusions must follow the legal process. Any evidence of unlawful exclusion would be taken seriously by the Department and Ofsted.
	Schools have a legal duty to support pupils with special educational needs. This would include those pupils with autism. Support typically includes adapting teaching and lessons, providing specialist teaching and support staff. Some schools have specialist resources (classes) where children with autism spend part of their time, and part in mainstream classes.
	The same legal duty and need for support would apply to alternative provision. Statutory guidance on exclusion reinforces that early intervention to address the underlying causes of disruptive behaviour should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any SEN or disability that a pupil may have.
	(1)Source:
	Table 1.4, Children with special educational needs: an analysis—2013
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/251742/SFR42-2013Chapter1tables.xlsx
	(2)Source:
	Table 5.10, Children with special educational needs: an analysis—2013
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/251746/SFR42-2013Chapter5tables.xlsx

Kings Science Academy

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether the valuers employed to provide a valuation of the land and property owned by Hartley Group which became the permanent site of the Kings Science Academy, Bradford (a) visited and (b) carried out a thorough inspection of this site in assessing the valuation of the land and property with respect to the negotiated lease agreement;
	(2)  whether the valuation placed on the land and property owned by Hartley Group which became the permanent site of the Kings Science Academy, Bradford prior to the lease being agreed for this land and property took into account the derelict state of some of the buildings on this site.

Edward Timpson: The company commissioned to undertake the independent valuation visited and inspected the site. The valuation provided took account of the state of repair and condition of the property.

Kings Science Academy

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will commission an independent valuation of the land and property owned by Hartley Group which became the permanent site of the Kings Science Academy, Bradford to determine whether the lease agreement negotiated for this land and property was fair value.

Edward Timpson: The Department commissioned and received an independent report and valuation of the Hartley Business Park in Bradford. This confirmed that the annual rent proposed for Kings Science Academy was in line with the market rent for the leasehold interest of the site.

Kings Science Academy

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the options appraisal report carried out in relation to the Kings Science Academy, Bradford, prior to the conclusion of a lease agreement for the Hartley Group site in Lidget Green, Bradford.

Edward Timpson: The Department does not publish options appraisal reports for free schools. To do so could inhibit the free and frank provision of advice and impact on the Department's ability to maintain a strong bargaining position for other free school sites.

Kings Science Academy

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what total rent per annum was being received by Hartley Group for the site that became the permanent site for the Kings Science Academy, Bradford, at the time of the options appraisal carried out prior to the lease agreement with Kings Science Academy, Bradford for that site.

Edward Timpson: The information requested is not held by the Department.

Kings Science Academy

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what area in square feet was covered by the (a) £2.77 and (b) £2.88 per square foot rental agreement with the then existing tenants identified in the options appraisal report into the Hartley Group site which became the permanent site for Kings Science Academy, Bradford;
	(2)  what area in square feet would have been covered by the £3.00 per square foot rental agreement then on offer to tenants identified in the options appraisal report into the Hartley Group site which became the permanent site for Kings Science Academy, Bradford.

Edward Timpson: The information requested is provided in the table:
	
		
			 Rental cost per square foot (£) Area of property in square feet 
			 2.77 27,854 
			 2.88 31,195 
			 3.00 10,587

Kings Science Academy

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the Review of Financial Management and Governance report for Kings Science Academy, Bradford.

Edward Timpson: A redacted version of the Review of Financial Management and Governance report for Kings Science Academy was published on the Department's website on 29 November:
	http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/r/kings_science_academy_final_report.pdf
	A copy has been placed in the House Library.

Mirus Academy

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when it is intended that the Minister for schools will write to the hon. Member for Walsall North on matters arising from the deputation on 17 October 2013 concerning the Mirus Academy.

David Laws: I wrote to the hon. Member and the principal of the academy on Thursday 28 November with my officials’ advice on the best way to pursue the development of the academy site, and the funding opportunities available.

Offences against Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the report of the Children's Commissioner on Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups, published on 26 November 2013, and whether he will propose changes to the teaching of sex and relationship education in schools in light of that report;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Children's Commissioner's office regarding the Commissioner's final report on Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups.

Edward Timpson: The Government welcomes the important work the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) has been doing in its inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups. The three reports which the OCC published on 26 November have provided new information on the nature and extent of this shocking form of abuse which we will need to consider carefully.
	I met the Deputy Children's Commissioner on 25 November to discuss the findings from the inquiry and attended the report launch on 26 November. On the issue of sex and relationships education, the Government agrees that high quality teaching is important and that children need access to reliable and well-informed sources of support.
	The Department for Education will reflect on the OCC's recommendations and contribute fully to the Government's response in due course.

Shannon Matthews

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 745W, on Shannon Matthews and with reference to the answer of 20 November 2012, Official Report, columns 446-7W, on offences against children: Kirklees, when he agreed with the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham that the Government would not pursue publication of the Kirklees Serious Case Review; and when his decision on that matter was published.

Edward Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), had various discussions on this matter with the former Children's Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton).
	The decision not to seek publication of the Overview Report is recorded in a Consent Order of the High Court dated 19 June 2013.

University Cathedral Free School

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 736W, on free schools: Chester, which key document lawyers for the University Cathedral Free School Trust are awaiting from the landlord of the free school site.

Edward Timpson: Lawyers for the University Cathedral Free School Trust are still awaiting a draft Joint Use Agreement from the landlord for the use of certain cathedral facilities.

Young People: Unemployment

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what support his Department provides to young people not in education, employment or training.

Matthew Hancock: In 'Building engagement, building futures: our strategy to maximise the participation of 16 to 24-year-olds in education, training and work', the Government set out a clear strategy to increase participation in education or training and address the challenge of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). This includes plans for preparing young people for further education or training, and work; for raising the age for compulsory participation in some form of education or training; and for supporting the most vulnerable.
	Local authorities have a statutory duty to support young people aged 16 to 18 to participate in education and training and to provide targeted support for those who are NEET. They know the needs of young people in their area and are responsible for making sure that there is sufficient, suitable education and training provision to meet those needs.
	The Government plans to spend £7.4 billion in 2013-14 to fund an education and training place for every 16 to 18-year-old who wants one. We are introducing new individually tailored study programmes; raising the quality and standard of apprenticeships; and introducing traineeships for those not quite ready for apprenticeships.
	The Youth Contract provides support for disengaged.16 and 17-year-olds with no or low qualifications to address the barriers they face to accessing and staying in education, an apprenticeship or employment with training.

Young People: Voluntary Work

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what National Citizens Service projects he has visited since taking office.

Elizabeth Truss: A list of National Citizen Service projects visited by the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Responsibility for the policy was transferred from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mr Timpson), to the Cabinet Office in July 2013. The Department for Education remains committed to young people and its responsibilities for education and children's services in England.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many electors were on the electoral register in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not hold this information. However, the relevant data for each local authority, by year, is held by the Office for National Statistics and can be found on their website here:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/electoral-statistics-for-uk/index.html

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission which local authorities did not conduct a door to door canvass in each of the last 10 years.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has set standards and monitored the performance of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) since 2008. Information before this point is not held.
	The Electoral Commission's Performance Standards, specifically Standard 3 aim to ensure that EROs make the necessary house-to-house enquiries to ensure that all eligible residents are registered, in line with their legal duty to maintain the electoral registers. The following list sets out which local authorities’ Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) did not meet performance standard 3 in each of the years 2008 to 2012.
	2008:
	Brentwood
	Bridgnorth
	Broad land
	Caerphilly
	Cambridge
	Carmarthenshire
	Chester-le-Street
	Conwy
	Copeland
	Coventry
	Craven
	Crewe and Nantwich
	Derwentside
	Dumfries and Galloway
	Durham
	East Dorset
	East Hampshire
	East Lindsey
	Eastbourne
	Epping Forest
	Forest Heath
	Gwynedd
	Halton
	Harborough
	Harrow
	Hillingdon
	Hyndbum
	Leeds
	Mendip
	Merthyr Tydfil
	Newport
	North Dorset
	North Lanarkshire
	Nuneaton and Bedworth
	Orkney Islands
	Rhondda, Cynon, Taff
	Ryedale
	Sefton
	Shetland Islands
	Shrewsbury and Atcham
	Slough
	Solihull
	South Lanarkshire
	South Norfolk
	South Northampton shire
	Stratford Upon Avon
	Sutton
	Tameside
	Teesdale
	The Vale of Glamorgan
	Uttlesford
	Warrington
	Wellingborough
	West Devon
	Weymouth and Portland
	Windsor and Maidenhead
	Wirral
	2009
	Basingstoke and Deane
	Brentwood
	Broadland
	East Hampshire
	East Hertfordshire
	Epping Forest
	Hyndburn
	Merthyr Tydfil
	Newport
	Runnymede
	South Lakeland
	The Vale of Glamorgan
	Uttlesford
	Warrington
	Warwick
	West Devon
	West Somerset
	2010:
	Brentwood
	East Hertfordshire
	Epping Forest
	Hertsmere
	Hyndburn
	Maldon
	Mid Devon
	West Devon
	2011:
	Angus
	Arun
	Braintree
	Broxbourne
	Cannock Chase
	Castle Point
	Chichester
	Clackmannan shire
	East Ayrshire
	East Devon
	East Dorset
	East Hampshire
	East Hertfordshire
	East Lindsey
	East Lothian
	Edinburgh, City of
	Falkirk
	Fife
	Gravesham
	Great Yarmouth
	Hart
	Lancaster
	Maldon
	Malvern Hills
	Medway
	Merthyr Tydfil
	Mid Devon
	Midlothian
	Milton Keynes
	Mole Valley
	North Ayrshire
	North Devon
	North Dorset
	North Lanarkshire
	North Somerset
	North Warwickshire
	Perth and Kinross
	Powys
	Rhondda, Cynon, Taff
	Sedgemoor
	Shropshire
	Solihull
	South Ayrshire
	South Lanarkshire
	Stirling
	Suffolk Coastal
	Tandridge
	Taunton Deane
	Thanet
	The Vale of Glamorgan
	Torfaen
	Warwick
	West Devon
	West Lothian
	West Oxfordshire
	West Somerset
	Windsor and Maidenhead
	Wycombe
	2012:
	Arun
	Braintree
	Broxbourne
	Castle Point
	East Devon
	East Dorset
	East Hampshire
	East Hertfordshire
	East Lindsey
	Eastbourne
	Great Yarmouth
	Gwynedd
	Lancaster
	Merthyr Tydfil
	Mid Devon
	Mid Sussex
	North Devon
	North Hertfordshire
	North Warwickshire
	Powys
	Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
	South Oxfordshire
	Taunton Deane
	Torbay
	Torridge
	Uttlesford
	Vale of White Horse
	West Devon
	West Oxfordshire
	West Somerset
	In 2013 the Commission also required all EROs to report on their performance prior to the start of the canvass, to confirm that arrangements were in place for the necessary house to house enquiries to be carried out. The Commission has intervened where issues were identified and recommended improvements to be made before the completion of the canvass. The Commission's report on ERO performance in 2013 will be published in March 2014.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what future plans the Electoral Commission has for use of the household enquiry form for the purposes of electoral registration.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it is required by law to design the household enquiry form, which must then be approved by the Lord President of the Council. The approved form will be made available to electoral registration officers to support the transition to individual electoral registration in Great Britain, which is expected to commence in June 2014.
	The Commission is also required to design a number of other statutory registration forms, notices and letters to support individual electoral registration, including the invitation to register and individual electoral registration application form. These documents must also be approved by the Lord President of the Council.
	The Commission has published guidance for electoral registration officers setting out how they should use household enquiry forms during the transition to individual electoral registration and as part of their ongoing duty to maintain the register.
	The Commission will be monitoring the response that electoral registration officers receive from electors to the household enquiry form through a joint data collection exercise with the Cabinet Office so that any necessary changes to legislation or practice can be made.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what milestone dates have been set by the Electoral Commission and local electoral registration officers for (a) gathering, (b) processing and (c) publishing data on electoral registration before the introduction of individual electoral registration.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it intends to collect data from all Electoral Registration Officers at the conclusion of the final household canvass in early 2014.
	The final household registers are due to be published in England on 17 February 2014 and on 10 March 2014 in Wales and Scotland. The Commission has asked for data to be returned by 28 February 2014 in England and 21 March 2014 in Wales and Scotland. The data will be published shortly thereafter.
	The Commission will also publish electorate figures for the European Parliament and local elections due to be held on 22 May 2014. The last date for electors to apply to be included on the registers for these elections is 7 May 2014.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will undertake an assessment of electoral registration rates in university towns and cities for the purpose of determining best practice in these circumstances.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has previously published research which indicated that registration rates among students are lower than average and that university towns and cities were one of several areas likely to see higher levels of under-registration.
	In addition, the Commission recently evaluated the data matching process, known as confirmation, which will be used to support individual electoral registration (IER). They found that students were much less likely to be successfully matched with the Department for Works and Pensions' database and therefore automatically transferred to the new individual electoral registers.
	The Commission has no current plans to undertake a direct assessment of registration rates in specific university towns and cities. However, their programme of research during the transition to individual registration will continue to assess how various demographic and other characteristics affect registration rates.
	The Commission is currently reviewing public engagement strategies produced by all electoral registration officers for the transition to individual electoral registration to ensure that they take account of their local context, including that they have plans in pace for engaging with students in their area.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the effects of illiteracy on registration levels.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has undertaken no assessment of the effects of illiteracy on electoral registration levels.
	The Commission is currently designing the registration forms that they will recommend be used by members of the public under the new system of individual electoral registration.
	The Commission has taken account of the available evidence on varying levels of literacy across the UK and the forms are being designed to be as accessible as possible, including for people with low literacy. The forms have been user tested with the public and people with low literacy were included within the research.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the number of people eligible to vote who were not on the electoral register in each of the last 10 years.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not made an assessment of the number of eligible electors who were registered to vote in each of the last 10 years.
	However, the Commission's research on the December 2000 registers in England and Wales found that they were 91-92% complete, meaning that approximately 3.5 million people were not registered at their current address. More recently their research into the December 2010 registers in Great Britain found that they were 85-87% complete, meaning that approximately six million were not registered at their current address.
	The Commission plans to undertake further work on the level of registration in Great Britain immediately before the introduction of individual electoral registration and after it has been fully implemented.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the (a) top and (b) bottom performing electoral registration departments were in terms of the proportion of the eligible population registered to vote in each of the last seven years.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that they do not have this information.
	The Commission also informs me that there is no reliable method for calculating annual registration rates for local authorities. The only available data is the mid-year population estimates produced by the Office for National Statistics and the number of entries on the registers. However, the population estimates include people who are not eligible to register and the registers include inaccurate entries.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what progress the Electoral Commission has made on providing individual constituency reports on the levels of voter registration and key indicators for registration performance to hon. Members, Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Members of the Scottish Parliament and Members of the National Assembly for Wales; and what changes have been made to the reporting process in each of the last seven years.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that in July 2008 the Commission published performance standards for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in Great Britain and has monitored and reported on the performance of EROs against these standards in each year since. The Commission writes to all hon. Members on publication of its annual assessment of the performance of EROs, providing information on the performance framework and directing Members to more detailed information and registration data on its website, where they can review the individual performance of each local authority in Great Britain. In addition to this, since 2011, the Commission writes specifically to those hon. Members, Members of the Scottish Parliament and Members of the National Assembly for Wales whose EROs have failed to meet one or more of the standards, setting out which standards have not been met and highlighting questions they may consider asking of their ERO(s) regarding what practices they follow in order to keep their electoral registers as complete and accurate as possible.
	The Commission's report on ERO performance in 2013 will be published in March 2014 and at that time the Commission will write to all hon. Members, Members of the Scottish Parliament and Members of the National Assembly for Wales, and will again highlight any cases where their ERO(s) have failed to meet one or more of the standards.
	The Commission's statutory power to set performance standards does not extend to Northern Ireland and we have therefore not corresponded directly with Members of the Legislative Assembly to date on key indicators for registration performance. The Commission is, however, working with the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to pilot a set of registration performance standards for Northern Ireland.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Coal

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of coal reserves available in (a) Wales, (b) each region of England, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

Michael Fallon: The following table shows the coal reserves for England (Central North, Central West and Northern), Scotland and Wales. There are no reserves in Northern Ireland.
	
		
			 Million tonnes of reserves 
			  England    
			  Central North Central West Northern Scotland Wales Total 
			 Current Sites and Licences 296 878 35 124 448 1,781 
			 Prospects 1,397 571 558 115 147 2,788 
			 Total 1,693 1,449 593 239 595 4,569 
		
	
	The data are provided by the Coal Authority.
	Current Site and Licences includes: operational mines, planning granted, in planning process and pre-planning.
	Prospects include: well developed, identified, fully and partly proved and potential.

Coal Gasification

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to create a regulatory environment governing underground coal gasification.

Michael Fallon: We are keen that Government plays its part in creating a regulatory environment which helps rather than hinders those with ambitions in the sector. With this in mind we will shortly launch a Working Group involving both DECC and the Coal Authority to look at the current licensing processes and in particular the interaction between underground coal gasification and coal bed methane. The group will consult with the relevant parties as part of its work.

Coal Gasification

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Coal Authority on underground coal gasification.

Michael Fallon: The Coal Authority is the freehold owner of the UK's coal resources and the licensing body for the exploitation of coal. We maintain a regular dialogue with it on the range of its activities including licensing. The Coal Authority has issued several offshore conditional licences to interested companies to assist in facilitating the development of UCG and full details of the Authority's processes for licensing in this area can be found on its website:
	http://coal.decc.gov.uk/en/coal/cms/services/licensing/license_apps/license_apps.aspx

Coal Gasification

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential of underground coal gasification in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Government undertook a feasibility study of UCG in 2004 which concluded that, in conjunction with carbon capture and storage, UCG had the potential to contribute to the UK’s energy requirements. No further assessment has been undertaken by Government but we have held meetings with interested companies as they continue to look at how this technology might be developed.

Energy: Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average household (a) gas and (b) electricity bill was in (i) West Sussex and (ii) Mid Sussex constituency in each year since 2010.

Michael Fallon: Energy bill data are only available at a Public Electricity Supply (PES) region level. The Mid Sussex constituency is within the South East PES region. However, West Sussex has postcodes in both the South East and Southern PES regions. Energy bill estimates for these regions have been provided in the following table.
	
		
			 £ 
			  South East PES Region Southern PES Region 
			  Gas Electricity Gas Electricity 
			 2010 661 408 657 424 
			 2011 724 438 723 445 
			 2012 808 464 807 470 
		
	
	These data are taken from Tables 2.2.3 and 2.3.3 of DECC's publication Quarterly Energy Prices (QEP), assuming an annual consumption of 3,300 kWh for electricity and 18,000 kWh for gas. Provisional annual bill estimates for 2013 will be published in December's edition of QEP on 19 December 2013.

Fuel Poverty

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, columns 724-5W, on fuel poverty, if he will also give the proportion of people living in fuel poverty under the old measure.

Gregory Barker: The following table shows the number and proportion of fuel poor households in England under the previous 10% indicator of fuel poverty as well as the new Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicator:
	
		
			  10% indicator LIHC indicator 
			  Number of households (thousand) Proportion of households fuel poor (%) Number of households (thousand) Proportion of households fuel poor (%) 
			 2009 3,964 18.4 2,486 11.5 
			 2010 3,536 16.4 2,474 11.5 
			 2011 3,202 14.6 2,390 10.9

Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps the Minister is taking to ensure the Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil is working with regulators to encourage public engagement.

Michael Fallon: The Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil (OUGO) works closely with the regulators on public engagement and to improve understanding of the facts about shale gas development. Staff from OUGO have attended a number of events alongside colleagues from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA), in order to provide a comprehensive overview of the regulation in this area.

Renewable Energy

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of energy (a) consumed and (b) produced in the UK is sourced from each renewable source.

Gregory Barker: The following table shows the proportion of UK energy consumed and produced from each renewable source in 2012:
	
		
			  UK production (ktoe) Proportion of UK primary energy production (%) UK consumption (demand) (ktoe) Proportion of UK primary energy consumption (demand) (%) 
			 Plant biomass (wood, wood waste, SRC, straw) 1,703 1.4 2,480 1.2 
			 Animal biomass (poultry litter, meat and bone, farm waste) 443 0.4 443 0.2 
			 Sewage gas 308 0.3 308 0.1 
			 Landfill gas 1,704 1.4 1,704 0.8 
			 Waste and tyres(1) 1,688 4.1 1,688 0.8 
			 Geothermal and Solar (thermal and PV) 256 0.2 256 0.1 
			 Heat pumps 56 0.05 56 0.03 
			 Hydro 454 0.4 454 0.2 
			 Wind, wave and tidal 1,684 1.4 1,684 0.8 
			 Liquid biofuels 317 0.3 958 0.4 
			 Total renewables and waste 8,613 7.1 10,032 4.7 
			 Total UK primary energy 122,142 — 214,312 — 
			 (1) Includes 696 ktoe of non-biodegradable waste, which is not considered renewable. Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics, 2013, tables DUKES 1.1 (total energy production/demand) and DUKES 6.1 (renewables production/demand), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-chapter-1-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes https://www.gov.uk//government/publications/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Fly-grazing

Mike Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the extent of fly-grazing in (a) England, (b) the South East, (c) Hampshire and (d) Eastleigh constituency;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to tackle fly-grazing; and what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing legislation to tackle fly-grazing in England;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the Control of Horses (Wales) Bill, due to come into effect in 2014, on fly-grazing in England.

George Eustice: No specific assessment has been made by Government on the extent of horse welfare problems in specific parts of the country. However, the most recent estimates by welfare organisations suggest that there may be 2,500 horses being fly-grazed in England. There is a range of existing legislation that can be used to deal with the issues, including the Animals Act 1971 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006. In addition, because fly-grazing is a form of antisocial behaviour, existing antisocial behaviour legislation and forthcoming measures in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill may be used to tackle it. There are no plans to go down the same legislative route as the Wales Government. We consider the practical answer lies in tackling local issues through effective use of existing and forthcoming legislation together with sharing best practice and joined-up working by interested parties.

Pate de Foie Gras

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to introduce an EU-wide ban on foie gras.

George Eustice: The UK Government is opposed to foie gras production. In many European Union member states it is already banned on the grounds that it is contrary to animal welfare laws. However, any future ban on its production in the few member states which still produce it is a matter for the European Commission.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

European Parliament

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that the recent vote of the European Parliament to meet in a single location is agreed to by the European Council.

David Lidington: We are pleased to see that the European Parliament continues to push for a single seat. The current arrangements are expensive, impractical and indefensible on environmental grounds. The UK Government's position remains the same; we are in favour of a single seat.
	The European Parliament's vote on 20 November 2013 committed it to initiating the Ordinary Revision Procedure, with the aim of amending the Treaties with regards to the institution's location. When a proposal comes forward, we will work with our partners in the European Council, with the aim of reaching a settlement that results in less waste.

Flexible Working

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level.

Hugh Robertson: Flexible working is delegated to line managers and staff. Line managers are responsible for recording and monitoring working patterns in their teams. There is no central record on the number of staff working compressed hours at each grade. Gathering this information could be done only at a disproportionate cost.

Libya

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take in respect of the expiry of the Libyan General National Congress's mandate on 6 February 2014; and if he will make representations to the Libyan government on the importance of progress towards democracy;
	(2)  what reports he has received on the progress made by the General National Congress and Libyan government in respect of creating a common national vision; and what assessment he has made of the need for a different approach to reaching a political solution in Libya;
	(3)  what account his Department has taken of Libyan social media in its assessment of national confidence in the political progress in that country; what assessment he has made of popular support for the current political process in Libya; and what steps his Department has taken to engage the people of Libya in political reform;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the progress made by the Libyan General National Congress (GNC) in producing an agreed constitution; and what assessment he has made of the likelihood of such a constitution being agreed before the expiry of the GNC's mandate on 6 February 2014.

Hugh Robertson: I discussed these, and other issues, with Prime Minister Zeidan during my recent visit to Tripoli of 18-19 November. The Libyan Prime Minister also met the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), during his recent stopover in London on 24 November.
	The UK Government is concerned at the instability in Libya and the threat that poses to Libya's democratic transition. We are monitoring events in Libya closely, including via social media, and are in continuous dialogue with the General National Congress and Government as they continue to make steady progress steering Libya's transition to a democratic state.
	However, political divisions within Libya are hampering progress overall. It is essential that all Libyans work towards agreement on a single, inclusive, authoritative, and independently-facilitated national dialogue process.
	The Libyans need to work through the Constitutional Drafting Assembly and national dialogue to reach a political settlement. While the substance of any settlement must be worked out by the Libyans themselves; the UK is committed to working with Libya and its international partners to create an enabling environment that supports the Libyan people reaching a political settlement that will bring stability.

Libya

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the Government provided to Libya in order to establish a national army and police force; and what assessment he has made of reasons for the failure of the Libyan government to establish such forces to date.

Hugh Robertson: In addition to our political support and co-operation in a range of fields, the UK is providing considerable security assistance to Libya's armed forces and police force, including:
	A Defence Advisory and Training Team (DATT) of approximately 20 personnel, with advisers embedded in the Libyan Ministry of Defence, Navy, Air Force, Border Security Force and Joint Training Directorate;
	A 12-18 month project to assist the Libyan Army in training and creating a joint operational planning staff; and,
	A strategic policing expert, embedded within the Libyan Ministry of Interior, to provide support and guidance on reforming the Libyan police.
	Furthermore, as the Prime Minister announced at the G8 Summit, the UK, US and other European partners have offered to train more than 7,000 Libyan troops to help the Libyan Government disarm and integrate militias and improve the security and stability of the country. As part of this package, the UK will train up to 2,000 Libyan armed forces personnel, in tranches, in basic infantry skills.
	We have further committed additional support through a three and a half year security, justice and defence programme which will strengthen the capability, accountability and responsiveness of these sectors, including through training 30,000 police officers in investigative techniques, 1,500 judicial police in courts and prisoner protection, and supporting the integration of up to 40,000 militia into the police or armed services.

Maldives

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent presidential elections in the Maldives.

Hugo Swire: The British Government monitored with concern the delays to Maldives presidential elections. We are pleased that the second round of elections was able to take place on 16 November, and that the winner, President Yameen, has now been inaugurated.
	The Maldivian people demonstrated their commitment to democracy throughout the electoral process, as evidenced by their high turnout of over 90% for the last round of elections. As I said in my statement of 18 November, I urge the new Government and the opposition to work together constructively in the interests of all Maldivians and to avoid any acts of recrimination or retribution. I raised this point during my meeting with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dunya Maumoon, during my visit to the country on 18 November.
	The UK looks forward to working with the new Maldives Government, and to the strengthening of democratic institutions in Maldives.

Tibet

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to protect the safety of people living in Tibet.

Hugo Swire: We regularly express our concerns about the situation in Tibet with the Chinese authorities. We did so most recently at official level on 24 October. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has also raised this in parliament, most recently on 3 September. Our concerns are addressed in detail in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office's Annual Human Rights Report, published on 15 April:
	www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk
	and in the update to it, published on 17 October.
	We also work with international partners and through multilateral fora. For example, we made a strong statement regarding, human rights issues, including Tibet, during China's UN Universal Periodic Review on 22 October, and we will continue to work with the UN Human Rights council to engage China on human rights issues, including Tibet.
	It is only through engaging China that we can help bring about positive change to human rights in China, including for Tibetan communities.

USA

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to his US counterpart about the fairness of the trial of the Miami Five; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The British Government will not make representations to the US Government on this issue, or a formal statement.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what accident and emergency unit waiting times were for each accident and emergency unit in the North East and Cumbria in the most recent period for which data is available.

Jane Ellison: There are three measures of waiting times in the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) for accident and emergency departments (A&E). These are time to assessment; time to treatment; and time to departure.
	The following table shows the average (mean and median) waiting times for all providers of A&E departments in the North East Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and the area covered by Cumbria Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) for 2011-12. Information for 2012-13 is not yet available.
	The mean and median duration (in minutes) to assessment, treatment and departure in A&E for 2011-12 for providers in the North East SHA Region or within the boundaries of Cumbria Teaching PCT.
	
		
			  Duration to assessment Duration to treatment Duration to departure 
			 Provider Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median 
			 Gateshead PCT 3.7 1 12.0 4 67.9 56 
			 Sunderland Teaching PCT 0.0 0 0.0 0 55.0 38 
			 South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust 9.0 3 22.6 6 87.8 60 
			 City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 19.0 13 39.3 20 123.3 108 
		
	
	
		
			 North Cumbria University Hospital NHS Trust 15.1 10 55.2 25 107.4 91 
			 Cumbria Partnership NHS foundation Trust 32.4 12 79.7 51 184.0 74 
			 Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust 10.6 7 67.2 57 140.8 136 
			 The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 72.9 10 71.6 22 104.7 90 
			 Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 16.4 7 62.7 53 115.1 107 
			 South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 30.3 13 50.8 35 109.9 95 
			 University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust 5.7 1 65.6 51 142.1 132 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust 16.1 10 45.5 35 109.7 96 
			 County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust 19.6 9 42.9 23 83.4 50 
			 Notes: 1. Duration to assessment: This is the total amount of time in minutes between the patients' arrival and their initial assessment in the A&E department. This is calculated as the difference in time from arrival at A&E to the time when the patient is initially assessed. 2. Duration to treatment: This is the total amount of time in minutes between the patients' arrival and the start of their treatment. This is calculated as the difference in time from arrival at A&E to the time when the patient began treatment. 3. Duration to departure: This is total amount of time spent in minutes in an A&E department. This is calculated as the difference in time from arrival at A&E to the time when the patient is discharged from A&E care. This includes being admitted to hospital, dying in the department, discharged with no follow up or discharged and referred to another specialist department. 4. Mean and Median: The mean (average) and median (middle in ranking when all values are sorted in order) duration in minutes to assessment, treatment or duration. 5. Providers are included if their headquarters are located within the relevant SHA or PCT. It may be that some of the reported activity takes place outside of the area if the provider has hospitals sites across a geographic area. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre. Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector

Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports his Department has received on pressure in accident and emergency departments in the forthcoming winter.

Jane Ellison: NHS England publishes weekly statistical reports on accident and emergency (A&E) performance on all 144 trusts, available publicly. The data covers the 95% patients seen in under four hours target, emergency attendance and emergency admissions for that week and performance cumulatively for the year.
	During the winter period, NHS England collects daily situation reports from acute trusts each weekday. These indicate where there are any winter pressures on the service around the country such as A&E closures, cancelled operations, bed pressures, or ambulance delays. Daily Flu highlights the number of patients with confirmed or suspected influenza in critical care beds at 8 am.
	Furthermore, NHS England produces monthly reports on five key clinical indicators. These look across a range of factors to give a broader indication of the quality, experience and timeliness of care.
	The indicators are:
	1. Left before being seen for treatment rate
	2. Unplanned re-attendance rate
	3. Time to initial assessment
	4. Time to treatment
	5. Total time spent in the A&E department

Electronic Cigarettes

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his policy is on the classification of e-cigarettes as medicinal;
	(2)  what research has been carried out by his Department and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in relation to the use and efficacy of e-cigarettes; and who funded such research.

Jane Ellison: The United Kingdom Government supports a requirement to introduce an approved regulatory framework. This position will need to take account of the final form of the Tobacco Products Directive. In the meantime, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continues to encourage companies voluntarily to license nicotine containing products on the basis of presentation and will continue to decide on whether products are medicinal products on a case by case basis. This is intended to ensure that products are available that meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy to help reduce the harms of smoking to smokers and those around them.
	The MHRA has commissioned two studies at the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London. The first study was an analysis of nicotine content in the cartridge contents and in the generated vapour of electronic cigarettes and has been published. The outcome of the second study, evaluating toxin and nicotine delivery in electronic cigarette has not yet been reported to the MHRA.

Flexible Working

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the civil service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level.

Daniel Poulter: The Department recognises that all types of flexible working hours-including compressed hours-enable staff to manage their work-life balance and helps with the retention of valuable, experienced and qualified staff. Staff can request to work compressed hours at any point in their employment, although there can be no guarantee that such requests will be met.
	Decisions to agree or refuse compressed-hours working are made by local line managers and records of these arrangements are not held centrally. It would incur disproportionate costs to establish the information requested.

Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings he has held with ministerial colleagues on public health marketing campaigns since his appointment.

Jane Ellison: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has so far not held any meetings with ministerial colleagues on solely on specific; individual public health marketing campaigns but has held regular meetings with colleagues where a variety of public health campaigns have been discussed.

Health Education

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written answer of 25 November 2013, Official Report, column 147W, on Health Education, what the rationale was for suspending work on the draft guidance.

Norman Lamb: The Government carried out a review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence public health work programme in 2010 to ensure that topics referred to it by the previous Administration were aligned with the Government's sexual health strategy.
	Following the review, the public health guidance on personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) focusing on sex and relationships and alcohol education was suspended to allow a decision on its alignment with the Government's sexual health strategy and continued development to be taken in light of the new public health structures, and subsequently the Government’s review of PSHE education.

Health Services

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for the transfer of public health functions from the NHS to local authorities; what steps he has taken to date to implement that transfer; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Upper tier and unitary local authorities were given a new statutory function from April 2013 to take appropriate steps to improve the health of their populations. However, responsibility for commissioning a small number of public health programmes, including children's public health services from pregnancy to five, rests with NHS England.
	The Government remains committed to transferring commissioning of children's public health services from pregnancy to five to local authorities from 2015. In order to ensure the safest and most effective transfer discussions about the timetable and process are being held with key stakeholders including the Local Government Association, Public Health England and NHS England. When these discussions are concluded an announcement will be made.

Health Services: Females

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that clinical care commissioning groups commission appropriate services for women who have been victims of violence; and what monitoring his Department undertakes to check that such services meet the requisite standards.

Jane Ellison: Except for the immediate response to sexual assault, the provision of services for women who have been-victims of violence as for all health services is decided by the local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). In providing services, CCGs take into account the needs of the population overall. CCGs decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs. NHS England, through its area teams, will be conducting quarterly assurance meetings with CCGs to ensure patients receive high quality services that deliver better outcomes for patients.
	NHS England directly commissions sexual assault referral services for victims of sexual violence, and in doing so, works in collaboration with police forces and others in the criminal justice system, local authorities and CCGs with the aim of providing an integrated care pathway. The Health and Justice Clinical Reference Group is the route through which NHS England will get clinical advice into justice health commissioning.

Health Services: Weather

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support his Department provides during exceptionally cold weather for health trusts.

Jane Ellison: We are providing an extra £250 million of funding for urgent and emergency care this winter, and NHS England have also announced a further £150 million to ensure the national health service is able to maintain the current high-level of patient care during winter.
	In addition Public Health England published the 2013 Cold Weather Plan for England on 25 October 2013. It sets out a number of valuable actions that health trusts can take to manage pressures during cold weather and is available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/252838/Cold_Weather_Plan_2013_final.pdf

Health Services: Worcestershire

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent meetings he has had on health service reconfiguration in Worcestershire.

Jane Ellison: The Department's Ministers have had two recent meetings to discuss the review of acute services at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
	On 5 September 2013, the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter), met my hon. Friend. Prior to that meeting, on 16 May 2013, my hon. Friend the Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter) met my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), local national health service and council representatives and a local campaigner.
	The reconfiguration of local health services is a matter for the local NHS. Commissioners in Worcestershire are currently working with local providers and stakeholders to develop proposals for the future provision of acute services across the county, including Alexandra hospital, which will be subject to public consultation.

Health: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each local authority was allocated for public health expenditure in 2013-14; and how much each local authority has spent on public health to date.

Jane Ellison: We have allocated £2.66 billion to local authorities (LAs) in the year 2013-14 for their public health responsibilities. At the end of June 2013 £542 million had been spent, 20% of the total allocation. The following table shows total LA allocation and related spend at quarter one:
	
		
			 Total public health grant allocations to local authorities and total spent in quarter one (April to June) in the year 2013-14 
			 England (£000) 
			 Local authority Ring-fenced grant budget Total spent at Q1 (April to June 2013) 
			 Barking and Dagenham 12,921 3,223 
			 Barnet 13,799 3,450 
			 Barnsley 13,571 2,555 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 7,183 1,934 
			 Bedford UA 6,676 1,221 
			 Bexley 6,886 246 
			 Birmingham 78,636 19,660 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 12,776 2,063 
			 Blackpool 17,457 4,364 
			 Bolton 18,115 4,500 
			 Bournemouth 7,542 1,119 
			 Bracknell Forest 2,772 718 
			 Bradford 31,545 4,951 
			 Brent 18,335 4,843 
			 Brighton and Hove 18,185 3,864 
			 Bristol 27,313 6,969 
			 Bromley 12,601 2,973 
			 Buckinghamshire 15,681 2,617 
			 Bury 9,147 1,743 
			 Calderdale 9,829 1,496 
			 Cambridgeshire 21,230 5,308 
			 Camden 25,649 0 
			 Central Bedfordshire 9,873 2,469 
			 Cheshire East 13,762 3,470 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 13,371 3,793 
			 City of London 1,651 107 
			 Cornwall 17,839 4,460 
			 Coventry 17,832 2,943 
			 Croydon 18,312 4,328 
			 Cumbria 14,176 1,594 
			 Darlington 6,989 1,130 
			 Derby City 13,167 3,292 
			 Derbyshire 34,680 0 
			 Devon 20,748 5,358 
			 Doncaster 19,648 4,874 
			 Dorset 12,538 3,134 
			 Dudley 18,457 3,588 
			 Durham 44,533 4,590 
			 Ealing 21,376 5,344 
		
	
	
		
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 8,341 2,033 
			 East Sussex 23,839 2,344 
			 Enfield 12,961 2,794 
			 Essex 48,874 12,334 
			 Gateshead 15,401 726 
			 Gloucestershire 21,126 2,577 
			 Greenwich 18,277 4,570 
			 Hackney 29,005 3,243 
			 Halton 8,510 2,128 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 20,287 5,150 
			 Hampshire 36,753 7,596 
			 Haringey 17,587 508 
			 Harrow 8,874 656 
			 Hartlepool 8,255 2,112 
			 Havering 8,833 1,603 
			 Herefordshire 7,753 1,939 
			 Hertfordshire 34,220 8,614 
			 Hillingdon 15,281 3,820 
			 Hounslow 12,804 2,500 
			 Isle of Wight 5,922 1,447 
			 Isles of Scilly 71 0 
			 Islington 24,737 6,184 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 20,636 5,455 
			 Kent 49,843 11,563 
			 Kingston upon Hull 21,945 2,361 
			 Kingston upon Thames 9,049 2,062 
			 Kirklees 22,603 8,123 
			 Knowsley 15,929 2,080 
			 Lambeth 25,438 6,359 
			 Lancashire 57,991 14,444 
			 Leeds 36,855 8,786 
			 Leicester City 19,995 5,526 
			 Leicestershire 20,206 4,185 
			 Lewisham 19,541 4,880 
			 Lincolnshire 27,542 2,693 
			 Liverpool 40,308 6,030 
			 Luton 11,877 2,015 
			 Manchester 40,105 10,128 
			 Medway Towns 13,170 3,295 
			 Merton 8,985 2,246 
			 Middlesbrough 15,932 3,987 
			 Milton Keynes 7,989 1,217 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 20,721 5,180 
			 Newham 23,738 5,935 
			 Norfolk 29,798 2,029 
			 North East Lincolnshire 9,700 2,600 
			 North Lincolnshire 8,071 1,038 
			 North Somerset 7,381 1,845 
			 North Tyneside 10,417 2,751 
			 North Yorkshire 19,021 4,867 
			 Northamptonshire 26,839 6,787 
			 Northumberland 13,043 1,513 
			 Nottingham City 27,081 6,512 
			 Nottinghamshire 35,135 5,675 
			 Oldham 13,559 2,356 
			 Oxfordshire 25,264 6,355 
			 Peterborough 8,446 1,831 
			 Plymouth 11,160 2,835 
			 Poole 5,892 1,473 
			 Portsmouth 15,737 910 
			 Reading 7,466 2,110 
		
	
	
		
			 Redbridge 10,374 2,560 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 10,620 2,655 
			 Richmond upon Thames 7,676 828 
			 Rochdale 14,256 3,846 
			 Rotherham 13,790 3,448 
			 Rutland 1,044 161 
			 Salford 17,075 4,075 
			 Sandwell 20,816 2,171 
			 Sefton 19,408 4,808 
			 Sheffield 29,665 4,227 
			 Shropshire 8,948 2,242 
			 Slough 4,988 705 
			 Solihull 9,635 2,456 
			 Somerset 14403 3,772 
			 South Gloucestershire 6,677 1,608 
			 South Tyneside 12,565 3,203 
			 Southampton 14,313 3,579 
			 Southend-on-Sea 7,327 1,749 
			 Southwark 21,809 5,400 
			 St Helens 12,680 384 
			 Staffordshire 32,322 7,503 
			 Stockport 12,360 2,512 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 12,711 939 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 19,690 529 
			 Suffolk 25,572 2,126 
			 Sunderland 20,656 4,669 
			 Surrey 23,237 -801 
			 Sutton 8,384 1447 
			 Swindon UA 7,891 2,017 
			 Tameside 11,454 292 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 10,616 2,653 
			 Thurrock 7,417 0 
			 Torbay 7450 1,788 
			 Tower Hamlets 31,382 7,713 
			 Trafford 10,171 881 
			 Wakefield 20,230 4,382 
			 Walsall 14,984 984 
			 Waltham Forest 11,161 2,790 
			 Wandsworth 24,738 6,287 
			 Warrington 10,052 2,517 
			 Warwickshire 21,216 6,075 
			 West Berkshire 4,381 1,140 
			 West Sussex 26,698 5,048 
			 Westminster 30,384 7,747 
			 Wigan 23,020 5,674 
			 Wiltshire 13,261 1,408 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 3,192 578 
			 Wirral 25,720 6,308 
			 Wokingham 3,839 508 
			 Wolverhampton 18,770 4,693 
			 Worcestershire 25,806 7,046 
			 York 6,641 1,666 
			    
			 England total 2,661,795 541,786

Healthwatch England

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on whether councillors who sit on a social services authority can also act as members or chairs of Healthwatch.

Norman Lamb: Membership and chairmanship are matters for each local Healthwatch organisation.
	There are no regulations governing the membership or chairmanship of local Healthwatch but the Government expects that any actual or potential conflicts of interest would be appropriately handled in line with the organisation's policy.
	In March 2013 the Local Government Association published a briefing note ‘Local Healthwatch: Governance and involvement of councillors’ setting out a common sense approach to being aware of, and dealing with, any potential conflicts of interest inherent in any such situation. The briefing note is available at:
	www.local.gov.uk/web/guest/publications/-/journal_content/56/10180/3899675/PUBLICATION

Heart Diseases: Children

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made on its review of the number of children's specialist heart units in England; and when he expects a decision to be made on this matter.

Jane Ellison: NHS England is responsible for conducting the new review of congenital heart disease services.
	NHS England is working closely with ail stakeholders to develop, test and revise a proposition for the review and to undertake work to identify a preferred approach to implementation by June 2014.

Ministers' Private Offices

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he (a) has appointed or (b) intends to appoint an enlarged ministerial office.

Daniel Poulter: I refer my hon. Friend to the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), answer of 28 November 2013, Official Report, column 398W.

NHS England: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to reduce the time taken by NHS England's Lancashire area team to respond to correspondence from hon. Members.

Jane Ellison: This is a matter for NHS England.
	We are advised that NHS England Lancashire Area Team is looking to improve the processes for handling all correspondence to ensure that responses are timely and to the same standard used by the Department.

NHS: Training

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training posts for (a) nurses and (b) doctors were commissioned in England in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The following table details the nurse training commissions by year, for the period 2008-09 to 2012-13:
	
		
			  Total nurse commissions 
			 2008-09 20,664 
			 2009-10 20,829 
			 2010-11 20,092 
			 2011-12 17,741 
			 2012-13 17,219 
			 Source: Multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns 
		
	
	The national health service is not responsible for commissioning undergraduate medical degrees. The Higher Education Funding Council for England is responsible for agreeing the number of medical degrees at each institution and for monitoring the actual number of students recruited.

Nurses

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many British nationals were registered as a nurse in the NHS in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The nationality of registered nurses working in the NHS is not collected centrally.

Pregnancy: Influenza

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government is taking to encourage take-up of the influenza vaccine among pregnant women.

Jane Ellison: We are taking a range of measures to encourage uptake of influenza (flu) vaccination of pregnant women. These measures include:
	publishing a seasonal flu plan to assist the national health service and local government to plan for flu, including advice to improve vaccine uptake among pregnant women;
	providing the NHS and local government with detailed guidance on the flu immunisation programme, including recommendations for close liaison between midwifery services and general practices;
	running a targeted national communications campaign to promote improved uptake of flu vaccine in clinical risk groups including pregnant women;
	monitoring levels of flu and vaccine coverage in pregnant women throughout the flu
	season; and
	I wrote to all hon. Members on 23 October 2013 with details of the seasonal flu strategy and information about eligible groups.

Public Health England

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the results of the Public Health England staff survey.

Jane Ellison: Yes. In the coming weeks Public Health England (PHE) will be sharing and discussing the results of the survey with staff. After this internal dissemination has been completed, PHE will publish the results of the Public Health England staff survey on their external website. This will take place by 30 January 2014.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many animal experiments were conducted in the UK in (a) 2012, (b) 2011, (c) 2010 and (d) 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: In Great Britain, there were (a) 4,110,028 scientific procedures performed on living animals in 2012, (b) 3,792,857 in 2011, (c) 3,724,726 in 2010, and (d) 3,619,540 in 2009.
	The Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) separately publishes figures for Northern Ireland. DHSSPS plans to publish figures for (a) 2012 in November/December 2013. In Northern Ireland, there were (b) 18,538 scientific procedures performed on living animals in 2011, (c) 18,311 in 2010 and (d) 51,753 in 2009.

Antisocial Behaviour

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance commitments she has given to police forces on the use of the new injunctions to prevent nuisance and annoyance contained in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill and the need not to curtail freedom of religious expression.

Norman Baker: We published draft guidance for frontline professionals in October. That guidance made clear that the police and other agencies must make proportionate and reasonable judgments before applying for an injunction to prevent nuisance and annoyance and that they should not use it to stop behaviours which have not caused, and are not likely to cause, harm to victims or communities. We are currently seeking the views of frontline professionals to ensure the guidance helps them use the new powers effectively, and will publish a final version in due course.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely change in the number of prison inmates due to the abolition of anti-social behaviour orders; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: holding answer 27 November 2013
	The published impact assessment estimates that replacing the antisocial behaviour order on conviction with the criminal behaviour order will have a negligible impact on prison places. The impact assessment also judges that replacing the antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) on application with the injunction to prevent nuisance and annoyance will lead to a reduction in the number of prison places, although it is not possible to quantify the reduction at this stage.
	The purpose of replacing ASBOs is to tackle antisocial behaviour more effectively, not to increase or decrease prison population numbers.

Crime

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of performance-related pay in the police on the accurate recording of crime; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has not made any such assessment.
	The principle of linking pay progression to satisfactory annual performance for police officers has been agreed in the Police Negotiating Board. The College of Policing are now designing this system to reward officers for their level of skill, contribution and professional development.
	The Government takes crime recording seriously. It is vital that crime is recorded accurately and all officers are expected to act with the highest level of integrity.

Drugs: Misuse

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the measures recently introduced in New Zealand to reduce the harm caused by legal highs;
	(2)  what plans she has to reduce the harm caused by legal highs; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  if she will publish any information which her Department holds on the efficacy of educational projects that resulted in a reduction in the use of controlled drugs in the UK or elsewhere in the last 10 years.

Norman Baker: We already control hundreds of “legal highs” and are working with law enforcement partners to disrupt the supply of these often dangerous substances. The Home Office has led communications activity to engage young people and students to advise of the risks of “legal highs”. We also regularly update public health messaging on those risks. We are not complacent and continue to look at ways in which we can enhance our response.
	We are also building on the 2010 Drug Strategy commitment to “review new evidence on what works in other countries and what we can learn from it” through our International Comparators Study looking at the impact of drug policies in other countries, which includes New Zealand.
	The research Centre for Analysis of Youth Transitions is a key Government resource in providing information on services and programmes that support the development of young people, including those aimed at reducing drug and alcohol use. The Home Office evaluated ‘Blueprint’ a large-scale drug education programme which ran between 2004 and 2005. Findings from the evaluation have been put in the public domain.

Drugs: Misuse

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many substances have been made subject to a temporary class drug order since 15 November 2011.

Norman Baker: A total of eleven named substances have been placed under Temporary Class Drug Orders since their introduction in November 2011. This includes methoxetamine in April 2012 and substances from both the NBOMe and Benzofuran groups in June 2013.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department will make additional funding available to cover the costs of enlarging the Independent Police and Crime Commission.

Damian Green: The Government intends to transfer resources from police forces to the Independent Police Complaints Commission to enable it to deal with all serious and sensitive cases involving the police.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy that additional funding for the Independent Police Complaints Commission will not be drawn from the policing budget.

Damian Green: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 November 2013, Official Report, column 32W.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2013, Official Report, column 32W, on Independent Police Complaints Commission, what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the transfer of funds from the (a) Ministry of Defence Police, (b) Civil Nuclear Constabulary and (c) British Transport Police to fund the expansion of the Independent Police Complaints Commission;
	(2)  if she will provide a detailed breakdown of the transfer of funds from each territorial police force in England and Wales to fund the expansion of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has not discussed with ministerial colleagues transferring resources from those organisations to enable the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to deal with all serious and sensitive cases involving the police.
	The Government has not yet made an announcement on the funding of the transfer of resources from police forces to the IPCC. Announcements will be made in line with the police annual settlement process. The Provisional Police Grant Report will be laid in Parliament in December.

Kings Science Academy

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish all information held by Action Fraud associated with the crime reference number NFRC130400222669.

James Brokenshire: When Action Fraud takes a report, the victim or the person reporting is asked to provide as much information as possible concerning the alleged suspect, the victim, how the incident took place, details of any other organisations that the fraud may have been reported to and any transaction or bank account information that is known to the reporter. Given the level of personal and monetary information collected the contents of reports and phone calls are confidential, however the person who made the report can be provided with a copy of the report which Action Fraud submitted to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau on request.

Metropolitan Police: Uniforms

Richard Drax: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police on future uniforms to be worn by police in London; and what the cost has been of the Metropolitan Police's recent research into its future uniform needs.

Damian Green: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings. With regards to the information on what the cost has been of the Metropolitan Police's recent research into its future uniform needs, this information is not held centrally.

Offences against Children

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures she is introducing to tackle the exploitation of children.

Norman Baker: holding answer 28 October 2013
	This Government is absolutely committed to tackling child sexual exploitation. Within the progress report and action plan of the National Group on Sexual Violence Against Children and Vulnerable People we have set out a range of measures being undertaken across Government and the police to prevent child abuse from happening, significantly improve support for victims and to bring perpetrators to justice.

Police: Cleveland

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of the 2013 Comprehensive Spending Review's additional grant reduction of £4.8 million on policing in Cleveland.

Damian Green: The Chancellor of the Exchequer's spending round announcement on 26 June concerned decisions on Government funding for the financial year 2015-16 only.
	As a result of the spending round in 2013, the Home Office has committed to resource savings of 6.1 % in 2015-16. However, central Government revenue funding to the police has been prioritised and will reduce by 4.9 % in real terms.
	No decision has been made on funding allocations for individual police and crime commissioners in 2015-16. Provisional allocations will be announced as part of the annual police funding settlement process next year.

Police: Disclosure of Information

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of the prohibition on police officers reporting their own constabulary to the Independent Police Complaints Commission under section 29 of the Police Reform Act 2002; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Police officers may report colleagues from the same force to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) through the dedicated IPCC phone line and e-mail address.

Sexual Offences

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the allegations made at the Public Administration Select Committee on 19 November 2013 by the Metropolitan Police on the under-reporting of rape and other sexual offence crimes over the last five years.

Norman Baker: We want to ensure that all victims of rape and sexual violence are treated with dignity, and that police investigations are conducted thoroughly and professionally. Any officer suspected of falsifying crime figures should be investigated and punished if found guilty.
	The Government is encouraged that the most recent crime statistics showed an increase in the number of rape and sexual violence cases reported to the police, indicating that more victims are having the confidence to come forward and report these crimes. In addition, the ‘no crime’ rate for rape has fallen year on year from 12.6% in 2009-10 to 9.6% in 2012-13.
	As part of their work to ensure the quality of police crime recording and service delivery to victims, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary is inspecting forces to ensure standards are being met and will publish a national thematic report next year.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Pay

Andy Sawford: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission how many staff of the House of Commons at each grade have been consulted on pay in the last year.

John Thurso: In the last year, all staff have been consulted directly about pay on a number of occasions. In particular:
	In March 2013 all staff were invited to attend a series of open meetings; to brief them on the pay offer and to provide an opportunity to ask questions and make representations. Over 500 staff in all pay bands attended these meetings, and their questions were subsequently made available to all staff on the parliamentary intranet, together with the answers which were given.
	In June and July 2013, following rejection of the pay offer, all staff were invited to take part in a series of exploratory discussion groups on pay. Some 95 staff attended these groups, again representing all pay bands and including both union and non-union members.
	In June 2013 we ran our annual staff survey. 1,223 staff (62%) responded to the survey and gave extensive feedback on pay issues. Their responses are available on the parliamentary intranet.
	In addition, there have been two full pay negotiations with the recognised trade unions, as well as various more informal meetings and exploratory discussions.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Central African Republic

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is acute and rapidly changing. The UN estimates that the whole population (4.6 million people) have been affected by this conflict and that 1.6 million people (a third of the population) are in need of humanitarian assistance, including protection, food, health, water and sanitation and shelter. DFID currently has a team in CAR assessing the humanitarian situation together with other agencies.

Conflict Pool

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her policy is on the future of the Conflict Pool; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The 2013 Spending Round agreed to build on the success of the Conflict Pool and to increase its size and broaden its scope with a new £1 billion Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) for 2015/16. The CSSF brings together new and existing resources from across Government to prevent conflict and tackle threats to UK interests that arise from instability overseas, including implementing the Building Stability Overseas Strategy. The National Security Council (NSC) will set priorities for the fund, drawing on the most effective combination of defence policy, diplomacy, development assistance, security policy, and intelligence.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to increase global access to proper sanitation facilities.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government has promised to support 60 million people to gain access to sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in the developing world, mainly in Africa and South Asia, by the end of 2015. We are on track to achieve this target through expanding existing projects and by entering into new partnerships with major WASH organisations.

Flexible Working

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials in her Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level.

Alan Duncan: As of 27 November 2013, DFID had no employees at director level or above working on a compressed hour pattern. 42 employees below director level are using a compressed hour working pattern.

Libya

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) progress has been made on and (b) funding has been allocated to her Department's Security, Justice and Defence Programme for Libya.

Alan Duncan: The UK Government is committing up to £62.5 million over the next three and a half years to support the Libyan Government in strengthening the capability, accountability and responsiveness of its security, justice, and defence sectors. This tri-departmental programme began in October 2013.

JUSTICE

Alternatives to Prison

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the restorative justice programme implemented by the West Mercia and Warwickshire police force.

Jeremy Wright: The Government is committed to ensuring that restorative justice is victim-focused, of a good quality and available at all stages of the criminal justice system across England and Wales. On 19 November we announced plans for at least £29 million recovered from offenders to help deliver RJ for victims over the coming three years. Much of this money will go to police and crime commissioners (PCCs).
	I welcome efforts by police forces (including West Mercia and Warwickshire) to help deliver this vision and I expect PCCs to work closely with all relevant organisations at a local level to ensure that RJ is only delivered in appropriate circumstances and is safe and competent.

Courts: Clothing

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice Pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2013, Official Report column 655w, on courts: clothing, if he will request that the Crown Prosecution Service formulate a policy on the wearing of face coverings in court.

Shailesh Vara: Guidance on the issue of wearing face coverings in court is a matter for the courts to consider. The Lord Chief Justice, the right hon. Lord Thomas, announced on 5 November 2013 that he intends to issue a practice direction which will give clear guidance on the wearing of a niqab in criminal courts. The Lord Chief Justice intends to hold a public consultation on the guidance in due course.

Trials

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many mistrials occurred (a) in the most recent period for which figures are available and (b) in each of the last five years.

Shailesh Vara: The outcomes of trials are not recorded in a way which fits the meaning of a mistrial as it is commonly understood, because the term is not applied as such in the courts of England and Wales. There are a number of reasons why a trial might not reach a conclusion, and sometimes another trial is ordered in as a consequence. Retrials can also be ordered by the Court of Appeal.

PRIME MINISTER

China

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Prime Minister what his objectives are for his discussions with the Chinese Government during his forthcoming visit.

David Cameron: In all my international activity my priority is to advance the UK national interest by supporting the security and prosperity of this country.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: North West

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has made available for Better Bus Areas in (a) Cumbria and (b) the North West since May 2010.

Stephen Hammond: In October this year, the Department announced that a new Better Bus Area would be created in Merseyside after a successful bid from the local transport authority. Funding for this scheme up until 2017 will amount to some £2.7 million.
	In 2012, the Department provided the following funding to local authorities in the North West through an earlier Better Bus Area Fund scheme:
	
		
			 Local Authority/Local Transport Authority Scheme Name Funding provided (£) 
			 Blackpool City Council Bus led regeneration of Blackpool Town Centre 1,073,000 
			 Transport for Greater Manchester Better Bus Area Fund Bid for Greater Manchester 4,999,000 
			 Merseytravel Merseyside's Measures for Better Bus Travel 4,207,000 
			 West Yorkshire ITA Smarter journeys 4,325,000 
		
	
	The Department has not received any Better Bus Area bids from Cumbria.

East Coast Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in his Department are currently working on the East Coast franchising programme.

Stephen Hammond: The core InterCity East Coast franchising team consists of 15 officials, who are wholly dedicated to the project. They are supported on an ad hoc basis by relevant officials from across the Department who provide specialist advice.

Flexible Working

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level.

Stephen Hammond: The following table details the number of staff who are currently on compressed hours.
	
		
			  Below Director Director and above 
			 DFTc 24 0 
			 HA 59 0 
			 DVLA 41 0 
			 DSA 50 0 
			 VOSA 8 0 
			 MCA (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) No records held centrally.

Goring and Streatley Station

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on assessing the cost and feasibility of adding step-free access to Goring and Streatley station.

Stephen Hammond: Network Rail has provided a cost estimate for the provision of lifts to facilitate step free access.

Goring and Streatley Station

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had on the ongoing issue of the installation of lifts for diabled passengers at Goring and Streatley station.

Stephen Hammond: I have asked the electrification programme to fund footbridge and lift works at this station but in parallel I have also asked them to nominate the station for funding through the Access for All programme.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in view of the expected size and length of the Environmental Statement which will accompany the Hybrid Bill on High Speed 2, if his Department will place a paper copy of the statement in the Library on the day that it is deposited.

Robert Goodwill: In line with Private Business Standing Order 27 a hard copy of all Bill documents was deposited in the Private Bill Office on the day of deposit. We understand that the House authorities will make this available in the Library.
	In addition, memory sticks with electronic copies of all the documents were provided to the Vote Office at the time of deposit.

Level Crossings

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward legislative proposals aimed at making it cheaper and quicker to close level crossings.

Stephen Hammond: At the request of the Department, the English and Scottish Law Commissions have considered the legislative framework surrounding level crossings. The Law Commissions have made over a hundred recommendations for change, including proposals for a new dedicated closure process.
	The Law Commissions report was published on 25 September 2013 and the Department's policy and legal analysis . will closely consider their recommendations in the formulation of its policy.

Level Crossings

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average cost is of closing a level crossing on (a) public land and (b) private land.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold figures for the costs of level crossing closure. However, this information can be obtained from Network Rail:
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London
	N1 9AG

Level Crossings

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the Law Commission's report on Level Crossings published in September 2013, Cm 8711.

Stephen Hammond: The Law Commissions' 300-page report contains over 100 recommendations as well as a draft bill and regulations. It represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring the legislative framework surrounding level crossings up to date and make it more responsive to the competing demands often placed on this infrastructure. We need to ensure that any legislation we bring forward utilises this opportunity, requiring detailed policy and legal analysis, which remains ongoing.
	We are extremely grateful to the English and Scottish Law Commissions for the significant amount of work they have undertaken since the Department requested them to look at this issue in 2008.

Pedestrian Crossings

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review his Department's guidance on pedestrian crossings.

Robert Goodwill: The Department's guidance on designing pedestrian crossings, including setting timings, is given in Local Transport Note 1/95: The Assessment of Pedestrian Crossings, Local Transport Note 2/95: The Design of Pedestrian Crossings, and Traffic Advisory Leaflet 5/05: Pedestrian Facilities at Signal-controlled Junctions.
	The Department is currently undertaking a review of traffic signing legislation, including the Zebra, Pelican and Puffin Pedestrian Crossings Regulations and General Directions. Once this is concluded, the Department will consider the need to update guidance to reflect these changes.

Pedestrian Crossings

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if his Department will make an assessment of the potential effect on motorists of providing an additional three seconds' time to pedestrians at signalised crossings;
	(2)  whether his Department has plans to increase the time for pedestrians on signalised crossings.

Robert Goodwill: Traffic authorities are responsible for ensuring that their pedestrian crossings provide everyone with enough time to cross the road safely. The timings used at each crossing will vary, as they depend to an extent on individual site circumstances. In designing crossings, traffic authorities will also need to assess the impact of the timings on all traffic. The Department provides advice on calculating timings for crossings in guidance, but this is not mandatory.
	The Department recommends that where a crossing may be used by a large number of older people or those with mobility issues, for example outside residential care homes, this should be taken into account when setting timings.

Railways: Finance

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 977W, on railways: finance, when he or his officials have met with (a) train operating companies, (b) the Association of Train Operating Companies and (c) the Rail Delivery Group to discuss reducing flex in 2014.

Stephen Hammond: The reduction in flex policy was announced as part of the ‘Rail Fares and Ticketing: Next Steps’ report, and there was ongoing liaison and consultation with a wide range of external stakeholders throughout the development of that document, including train operating companies and representative groups.

Railways: Franchises

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on which occasions officials in his Department have discussed rail franchising policy with founder members of the Rail Delivery Group since June 2012.

Stephen Hammond: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 4 November 2013, Official Report, column 45W.

Road Traffic Control

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account his Department takes of evidence of public consultation undertaken by local transport authorities or local highway authorities when considering applications to the local pinch point fund.

Robert Goodwill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 November 2013, Official Report, column 1052W.

Rolling Stock: Lancashire

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Northern Rail on the provision of modern rolling stock to service East Lancashire.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has very recently received a proposal from Northern Rail for the introduction of electric rolling stock in north-west England, and for the introduction of a new train service from Manchester to Blackburn via Todmorden, to be funded for its first three years of operation by Lancashire county council. A decision will be taken on whether to accept the proposal in due course. In the longer term, the provision of rolling stock on routes in east Lancashire will be a matter for the new Northern franchise, due to start in February 2016.

Rolling Stock: Manchester-Burnley Railway Line

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2013, Official Report, column 976W, on Manchester-Burnley railway line, if he will require that Northern Rail provides modern and quality rolling stock for the Manchester-Burnley rail route as a condition of accepting the proposal to be considered.

Stephen Hammond: It is not the Department's policy to specify age or other characteristics of rolling stock. This is a matter for train operators. It has been proposed that the Manchester-Burnley service will be funded by Lancashire county council for its first three years of operation. If this is agreed, the Department's policy is that it will be for the council to decide whether to accept the terms offered by Northern Rail.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of his Department's civil servants have been seconded to (a) the private sector and (b) trades unions in each year since 2010.

Stephen Hammond: According to our centrally held records, since 2010, two of the Department's civil servants have been seconded to the private sector.
	According to our centrally held records, since 2010, none of the Department's civil servants have been seconded to the trade unions.
	Given the very small numbers involved in the request, detailed breakdown of secondments by individual organisation and year cannot be provided.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many secondees from (a) trades unions and (b) the voluntary sector have worked in his Department since 2010.

Stephen Hammond: According to our centrally held records, no secondees from trade unions have worked in the Department for Transport since 2010. And, according to our centrally held records, no secondees from the voluntary sector have worked in the Department for Transport since 2010.

TREASURY

Co-operative Bank

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many telephone calls were made by the hon. Member for Fareham to the senior management of the Co-operative Bank during his time as Financial Secretary to the Treasury; how many such calls have been made by each other Minister in his Department since May 2010; and if he will publish the transcript and minutes of each such call;
	(2)  how many meetings his Department held with the Co-operative Bank between June 2010 and August 2013.

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when Ministers in his Department have met staff of the Co-operative Bank since 2010. [R]

Nicky Morgan: holding answer 26 November 2013
	Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. HM Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations. This is available online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
	Information about all ministerial phone calls and all departmental meetings is not routinely collected and is not held centrally.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Help to Buy mortgage guarantee applications have been made for properties worth (a) less than £150,000, (b) £150,001 to £300,000, (c) £300,001 to £400,000, (d) £400,001 to £500,000 and (e) £500,001 to £600,000.

Sajid Javid: The Government is committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The Government wants current and future generations to experience the benefits of owning their own home, in the same way their parents were able to. Since the financial crisis, larger deposit requirements and falling equity values mean many credit-worthy households cannot get a mortgage, or are trapped in their existing homes unable to take the next steps.
	On 8 October, the Government published the scheme rules for the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme. Lenders are now able to sign up to the scheme and originate mortgages that will be eligible for the scheme when it opens in January.
	The figures demonstrate that the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme is supporting responsible lending. On average households have asked to borrow around £155,000 for houses worth about £163,000, which is below the UK average price of £247,000.
	Once the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme opens in January, the Government will collect data on mortgages covered by the guarantee, and will report in due course.

New Towns

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what discussions his Department has had with outside experts and consultants regarding the potential construction of a new town within the boundaries of the Mid-Bedfordshire constituency;
	(2)  what discussions his Department has had with experts and consultants on promoting economic growth by building a new town in the south east of England.

Danny Alexander: The Treasury has regular discussions with outside experts on housing supply. The Government do not currently have any plans to construct a new town.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Employment and Support Allowance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 1019W, on employment and support allowance, if he will take steps to record details of occasions on which decision makers have used powers of supersession.

Esther McVey: The Department gathers data with regard to the total numbers of decisions made following a Work Capability Assessment, as well as their outcomes e.g. which component has been applied. There is no facility to efficiently gather more detailed information regarding the use of supersession powers in each case and the Department has no plans to introduce a mechanism for doing so.

Employment and Support Allowance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 1019W, on employment and support allowance, what mechanisms his Department has to monitor the appropriateness of instances of supersession following a repeat work capability assessment.

Esther McVey: The Department has in place a Quality Assessment Framework which measures the appropriateness of decision outcomes. This ensures that all available evidence has been given due consideration before a decision is made. This check encompasses supersession decisions following a repeat work capability assessment.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2013, Official Report, columns 455-7W, on employment and support allowance, how many claimants of employment and support allowance in each of the main diagnosis groups were referred to the Work Programme between 1 June 2011 and 28 February 2013.

Esther McVey: The latest Work programme information available is to 30 June 2013 and is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of Work programme referrals, attachments and job outcomes for claimants in each of the main diagnosis groups for those in the employment support allowance (ESA) payment groups: 1 June 2011 to 30 June 2013 
			  Referrals Attachments Job outcomes 
			 ESA customer groups total 196,420 186,530 6,210 
			 Other/missing 2,120 1,990 130 
			 Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified 19,760 18,890 730 
			 Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium 230 200 20 
			 Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous system 1,200 1,150 40 
			 Certain infectious and parasitic diseases 1,440 1,380 50 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders 104,100 98,310 2,680 
			 Diseases of the genitourinary system 1,500 1,420 90 
			 Factors influencing health status and contact with health services 1,740 1,660 50 
			 Diseases of the blood and blood forming organs and certain diseases involving the immune mechanism 360 340 10 
			 Diseases of the digestive system 3,250 3,100 130 
			 Diseases of the circulatory system 5,620 5,420 200 
			 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 11,500 11,030 760 
			 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 27,150 25,960 830 
			 Diseases of the respiratory system 3,020 2,870 60 
			 Diseases of the nervous system 7,710 7,340 200 
			 Diseases of the eye and adnexa 790 750 20 
			 Neoplasms 1,900 1,840 140 
			 Diseases of the ear and mastoid process 510 480 10 
		
	
	
		
			 Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases 2,430 2,'290 50 
			 Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities 90 90  
			 Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period — — —

Employment Schemes: Fraud

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to investigate allegations of fraud in the Work Choice contract in West and North London; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The Department treats any allegation of fraud by contractors very seriously. Any fraud is completely unacceptable. Where we identify, or are notified of, allegations of contractor fraud, these cases are investigated thoroughly by the Department's professionally trained and experienced investigators to a standard required to support reference to the police whenever evidence of criminal offences is discovered.

Employment Schemes: Fraud

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to prevent fraudulent manipulation of Work Choice and Work Programme job outcomes; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: DWP has robust control and assurance arrangements in place to guard against fraudulent claims being made by providers.
	Before payment, every job outcome claim is checked to ensure that the programme participant has left benefit. A sample of claims is further checked to ensure that the participant has not only left benefit but is also in employment. In addition, the Department requires all providers to have robust and effective controls in place to mitigate the risk of internal manipulation, and to operate whistleblower facilities to enable staff to report any concerns. Programme providers are regularly inspected to ensure that their internal processes and controls are operating effectively.
	Errors can and do occur in the claims process for legitimate reasons, and the Department will recover any monies paid in these circumstances. However where the Department identifies, or are notified of, allegations of contractor fraud, these cases are investigated thoroughly by DWP's professionally trained and experienced investigators.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in housing benefit to families placed by local authorities in temporary accommodation in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 (e) 2012 and (f) January to October 2013.

Steve Webb: The total housing benefit expenditure in each financial year between 2008-09 and 2012-13 on claimants in temporary accommodation is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Housing benefit expenditure on claimants in temporary accommodation 
			  £ million (nominal) 
			 2008-09 677.6 
			 2009-10 602.2 
			 2010-11 501.2 
			 2011-12 521.3 
			 2012-13 560.1 
			 Note: Information sourced from local authority claims for housing benefit subsidy. Such information is only available on a financial year basis. No information is currently available for the 2013-14 financial year.

Industrial Health and Safety: Temperature

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent guidance he has given to the Health and Safety Executive with regard to the monitoring of employers' compliance with their duty under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 to ensure that the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable; and what guidance he has issued on appropriate enforcement measures which should be taken where employers are found to be in breach of that duty.

Michael Penning: On 3 October 2013, the former Minister for Employment, my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr Hoban), agreed to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishing a revised Approved Code of Practice and guidance on the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. This contains clear information and guidance on employers' responsibilities to maintain reasonable temperatures in the workplace.
	HSE's published Enforcement Policy Statement applies to this area, and I have not issued any specific guidance on enforcement measures in relation to workplace temperatures.

New Enterprise Allowance: Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) referrals, (b) clients engaged, (c) approved business plans and (d) business starts there have been under the National Enterprise Allowance scheme in (i) Mid Sussex constituency and (ii) West Sussex since the inception of that scheme.

Esther McVey: The Department routinely publishes Official Statistics on the New Enterprise Allowance. These statistics show mentoring starts and allowance starts. NEA participants receive the weekly allowance after their business plan has been approved and their business begins trading. The Department does not publish information on referrals.
	The Get Britain Working August 2013 official statistics:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/230333/RESTRICTED_GBW_Official_Statistics_Release_Aug_2013_final.pdf
	give the business mentor and weekly allowance starts, broken down by months and demographically, including by region.
	Further geographical breakdowns, by Jobcentre Plus district, local authority and parliamentary constituency, have been published separately:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/230306/gbw-geo-breakdown-_aug-13.xls

Staff

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 1022W, on Jobcentre Plus, how many staff were directly employed in his Department and its agencies in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) January to October 2013; and if he will estimate how many such staff worked in jobcentre operations in (i) 2012 and (ii) January to October 2013.

Michael Penning: Table 1 shows the number of staff who were directly employed in the Department at the end of each year from 2008 to 2012 and on 30 October 2013. The figures are 'staff in post', ie people counted as a single unit irrespective of the hours they work.
	
		
			 Table 1 
			  Number 
			 31 December 2008 104,662 
			 31 December 2009 121,824 
			 31 December 2010 112,135 
			 31 December 2011 101,331 
			 31 December 2012 (1)97,984 
			 30 October 2013 (1)92,946 
			 (1 )For the purposes of consistency the figures for 31 December 2012 and 30 October 2013 do not include the Child Maintenance Group, previously known as the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, a non-departmental public body, which became part of the core Department on 1 August 2012. 
		
	
	As part of restructuring Jobcentre Plus became part of the core Department, as part of DWP Operations in October 2011. An estimate of the number of staff directly employed in DWP Operations at 31 December 2012 and 30 October 2013, in those areas of work most closely aligned with previous Jobcentre Plus operations functions, is shown in Table 2 as follows. As part of the restructuring a number of non operational support activities undertaken in Jobcentre Plus were subsumed into departmental corporate functions. These are not included in the figures in Table 2.
	
		
			 Table 2 
			  Number 
			 31 December 2012 75,777 
			 30 October 2013 70,527

Universal Credit

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households will receive a maximum childcare component of (a) 70 per cent and (b) 85 per cent once universal credit is fully introduced.

Steve Webb: Universal credit will provide support towards the costs of child care for 500,000 working families.
	200,000 families will benefit from the proposed introduction of an 85% rate of child care support where all parents earn enough to pay income tax.
	Based on current work patterns, less than 50,000 families will receive child care support as part of a UC award which has not been tapered due to earnings. All of these cases would receive child care support at 70%.
	However, UC offers a simpler child care arrangement which pays child care support to people no matter how many hours they work, which we believe is the best way of supporting people into work. We therefore expect many more people to enter work at less than 16 hours per week, while taking advantage of child care support, due to the greater flexibility and higher work allowances under universal credit.
	Notes:
	1. The results of the analysis do not take account of any potential increase in employment as a result of the greater flexibility of child care support under universal credit. This is in line with the Universal Credit Impact Assessment published in December 2012.
	2. This analysis has been modelled using the Department's Policy Simulation Model, using data from the Family Resources Survey data, 2010-11. The analysis has been carried out at the Benefit Unit level, which is defined to be a single adult or cohabiting couple, and any dependent children.

Winter Fuel Payments

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received the winter fuel allowance in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last three years.

Steve Webb: The information is available on the internet at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/winter-fuel-payments-caseload-and-household-figures

CABINET OFFICE

Flexible Working

Nick Gibb: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level;
	(2)  how many officials in the Deputy Prime Minister's Office make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level.

Francis Maude: The Deputy Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and is included in this reply.
	To deliver public services on a 24/7 basis the civil service, like comparable private sector employers, needs a flexible, workforce. Staff in my Department may be provided with flexible working options including working compressed hours at the approval of their line managers. It is only authorised when it meets the business need, and like all areas of staffing, is kept under constant review.
	Details of such staff working arrangements are not held centrally.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to Sir John Chilcot's letter to the Prime Minister of 4 November 2013, what the role of Sir Jeremy Heywood is in collating and clearing documents included in the 10 requests submitted by the Iraq Inquiry since June 2013.

Francis Maude: The Minister for the Cabinet Office's role is set out in the protocol agreed between Government and the Inquiry, which is published on the Inquiry's website at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/iraq-inquiry-information-sharing-protocol

Population

John Denham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the change in population of each English region was between 2001 and 2011.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office the change in population in English regions between 2001 and 2011 (177853).
	Table 1 shows the population estimate for each region for mid-2001 and mid-2011 together with the derived estimates of absolute and percentage change.
	
		
			 Table 1: Population Change in English Regions, 2001-11 
			 Resident population 
			  Mid-2001 Mid-2011 Change Percentage change 
			 England 49,449,746 53,107,169 3,657,423 7.4 
			      
			 North East 2,540,090 2,596,441 56,351 2.2 
			 North West 6,772,985 7,055,961 282,976 4.2 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4,976,643 5,288,212 311,569 6.3 
			 East Midlands 4,189,622 4,537,448 347,826 8.3 
			 West Midlands 5,280,727 5,608,667 327,940 6.2 
			 East 5,400,463 5,862,418 461,955 8.6 
			 London 7,322,403 8,204,407 882,004 12.0 
			 South East 8,023,449 8,652,784 629,335 7.8 
			 South West 4,943,364 5,300,831 357,467 7.2 
			 Source: Office for National Statistics